Friday Four

War of WordsLaura Secor, The New Yorker
In this gripping tale, we get to know Asieh Amini, an Iranian woman whose bravery and journalistic integrity are truly inspiring. From navigating the revolution to exposing the dark underbelly of cleric rule to surviving an interrogation at gunpoint, her story is rife with drama. What shines through is a career infused with a fierce commitment to justice and a remarkable faith in the power of the fact.

6 Emerging Female Entrepreneurs To Watch In AfricaMfonobong Nsehe, a Forbes contributorShe Leads Africa (SLA), an organization that promotes women’s business ownership throughout a vast and diverse continent, hosts an annual pitch contest soliciting business ideas from up-and-coming female entrepreneurs. From the beauty businesses to the spice seller, we loved reading about these entrepreneurial newcomers, who all have the potential to make it big — in Africa and beyond.

Russian Female Entrepreneurs say Russia Could Become a Model of Workplace Gender EqualityDavid Lepeska, Quartz
“A deeply patriarchal state populated by repressed beauties and lorded over by a domineering, oft-shirtless president — that’s the simplistic Western view of Russia,” writes Lepeska, reporting from Moscow. To expand our view, he talks with women like Natalya Tumanova, who have started businesses and thrived. These discussions offer entry points into a complex land, one where women are blazing paths and making progress through entrepreneurship.